Emily Matuszewicz, D.C., is the Health Institute Director of Development and Partnerships at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She is charged with the oversight and development of an interdisciplinary educational approach that prepares students from diverse backgrounds to become Colorado’s future health professionals, improve health outcomes, and promote health equity.
Michelle Tollefson is a physician and associate professor in the Health Professions Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She teaches in the Integrative Therapies program and is the current secretary of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
Tollefson worked as a private practice obstetrician and gynecologist, until leaving to work with Poudre Valley Health System as a medical director and director of Women’s Wellness Education. She is a certified wellcoach, guest faculty for Harvard and author of online continuing medical education for the Harvard Institute of Lifestyle Medicine. She is passionate about women’s healthcare, lifestyle medicine and teaching people to lead healthier and happier lives.
Tollefson is a graduate of Creighton University, where she received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees. She completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at the University of Missouri in Kansas City and received her board certification in this medical specialty.
Christina Sigala is an affiliate professor in the Department of Chicana/o Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She has been a part-time Social Worker at Annunciation Catholic School in Five Points in Denver, CO, an institution that has been there for over 120 years. She has been a chair of the Mother Xavier Peace Day event at Annunciation.
Her academic history began on the Auraria campus at the Community College of Denver in 1992 and later transferred to MSU Denver to completed a degree in Human Services in 1996. From 1996 to 2002, Sigala completed a joint-Master’s Degree with the University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work, and the Iliff School of Theology (Concentration and Justice and Peace Studies).
Susie Ryder, M.S.W., is the director of undergraduate and graduate field education in the Department of Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Ryder started her career in social work at Cleo Wallace Centers where she worked for 7 years in various positions including inpatient social worker, residential clinician, inpatient manager and clinical director. She then continued her work with children, adolescents and families at Mental Health Partners for 16 years. At Mental Health Partners, Ryder was the solution focused therapy trainer for the center for several years and most recently senior program manager for the Prevention/Intervention and School Based programs in the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain School Districts with oversight of 35 therapists.
She has been a faculty field advisor, admissions reader, integrative seminar co-leader and lecturer in the continuing education for advanced clinician program at Smith College School for Social Work. In addition, Ryder has a private practice in Boulder working with individuals, couples and families. She currently serves on the board of a suicide prevention program for adolescents and offers presentations in Boulder county on this topic.
Ryder received her Master of Social Work from Smith College School for Social Work and a bachelor’s from Oberlin College. She is a licensed social worker and a licensed addiction counselor.
Steve Rissman, N.D., is a professor a faculty member in the Integrative Health Program in the Department of Health Professions at Metropolitan State University of Denver. His focus areas center around the health of men and boys and he has developed one of the first men’s health care academic programs in the nation.
Rissman teaches classes related to men’s health including: Men Across Cultures, Anger in Men, Men and Addictions as well as Father’s and Fathering. In addition, Rissman is also the lead instructor for a clinical pathophysiology class, which he has taught for more than 15 years.
Rissman has studied, taught and worked in the fields of men’s health for over 20 years. He has committed his naturopathic medical practice to improving the lives of men and boys by working with those suffering with anxiety, compulsive behavior, anger issues, lack of motivation or direction, chronic pain and any physical health issues. Rissman also has a private practice at his farm office, north of Denver, working with men and boys.
Having grown up on a farm and spending a great deal of time in the outdoors, Rissman has a deeply rooted curiosity for the laws of nature, particularly the science of disease process. As a result, he has an ability to illicit the story of one’s unique disease process and to perceive what needs to be cured in each individual man or boy using homeopathy, botanical medicines, therapeutic nutrition and other insightful methods intended to help lead men on the journey through the abyss of illness. He has also published several articles including “Health Effects of Anger in Men” and “Getting Behind the Mask: Improving Quality of Care for Male Patients.”
Rissman received his doctor of naturopathic medicine from Bastyr University in 1996.
Ann Obermann, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of social work at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Since 2016 she has taught courses in direct family practice, family therapy, trauma, mental health assessment, trauma interventions and child maltreatment. In addition, she enjoys training child welfare and mental health professionals on topics such as trauma, adolescent development, leadership and supervision as well as family engagement.
Obermann is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Colorado and has extensive social work practice experience working in human service management, community mental health and with at risk families and adolescents in both child welfare and mental health environments. She also managed an intensive evidence based program where she created and facilitated different trainings for online social work instructors to prepare them for socially just educational experiences. Obermann is also the coauthor of the book, “101 Careers in Social Work”.
Obermann received her Ph.D. in social work from the University of Denver in 2017, her master’s in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2002 and her bachelor’s in social work from St. Olaf College in 1997.
Brandi Moore, Ph.D., is a lecturer and naturopathic physician in the Department of Health Professions at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She teaches Dynamics of Health HON, Medical Terminology and Clinical Pathophysiology. In addition, she is the owner of Reclaim Integrative Health in Denver and the host of “The Pretty Healthy Podcast,” where she tackles trending topics in health and wellness from a balanced perspective.
Her interest in medicine started once she began her formal education in Naturopathic Medicine and began making changes in her own life after seeing significant improvements to her health. This fueled her desire to help and educate those around her in the healing power of nature. Moore understands first-hand how hard it is to make health a priority in people’s lives and helps women prepare their bodies for pregnancy, increase energy levels, lose weight, eat healthier and maintain a balanced mood.
Moore received her Ph.D., from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in 2016 and completed a two-year residency in general medicine and naturopathic oncology in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She received her bachelor’s in public relations from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2010.
Tanya Greathouse, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
In addition to teaching at MSU Denver, she also serves as a faculty field advisor and affiliate associate professor in the Department of Social Work at Smith College School and a private psychotherapy practitioner in the Denver/Boulder area. Her foundation of cultural competency is informed by her teaching curriculums and multicultural trainings. Greathouse holds certifications in Administrator and Interpreter for the Intercultural Developmental Inventory and QPR Gatekeeper Instruction. She has also completed the American Management Association Managers training and VISIONS Multicultural training.
Greathouse received her doctorate in clinical social work from Smith College, a Master of Social Work from University of Denver and a bachelor’s in sociology from University of Colorado, Boulder.
Elisa Fadum-Montoya, MSW, is an affiliate professor in the Department of Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She has been a licensed clinical social worker for over 20 years and her areas of expertise include working in mental health, crisis interventions, family therapy and child welfare.
Fadum-Montoya has been teaching at MSU Denver since 2014, where she has taught a field experience seminar for graduate students. She has also taught graduate social work courses related to family therapy and undergraduate courses such as Privilege, Oppression and Power. In addition, she also works as a mobile crisis clinical evaluator for Denver Health and Hospitals, where she conducts mobile evaluations of individuals in the community experiencing psychiatric crisis.
Fadum-Montoya was also the clinical director and owner of Bridges Family Services Inc., where she provided clinical supervision and training to a team of clinicians and case managers. She also oversaw service delivery including assessment and interventions, multi-family therapy education classes and parenting/visitation sessions.
Prior, she has worked as a bariatric social worker for Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center. She performed psychological evaluations for potential bariatric surgery candidates, provided follow up therapy support and facilitated support groups. Fadum-Montoya also worked as a LCSW for Centennial Peaks Hospital, where she performed assessments for people struggling with mental health instability and substance abuse.
Fadum-Montoya received her master of social work from the University of Denver in 1997, and a bachelor’s in human services from the University of Massachusetts in 1991. She also received a certificate in marriage and family therapy from the Denver Family Institute in 2000.
